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Sage ACCPAC ERP 5.4 has 267 new features

  

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What are the most important facts I should know about Sage Accpac ERP 5.4?

This release contains 267 new features designed to help you operate your business in the most effective and productive way. This release helps businesses achieve operational flexibility- from the way you setup posting, to the way you handle taxes, to the way you setup jobs and make changes in Bills of Material, you won't be locked in to a single approach. Improvements in inquiry screens and reports throughout modules, plus a new Inventory Items wizard will help you breeze through your daily tasks. Want to create a customer refund while you are in the Accounts Receivable module? Now you can. And with our new RMA module you can take full control of the returns process and improve every customer interaction.

We will determine if you will be impacted by the following:

•  Payroll 5.4 is not compatible with PJC 5.3B. If you attempt to activate Payroll to 5.4, with PJC 5.3B in place, the system will prevent you from upgrading. Your options are:
  1. Upgrade the complete system after the Phase 2 modules are released.
  2. Keep using Payroll Version 5.3, install Service Pack 2 for PJC 5.3 B , and upgrade all other modules to Version 5.4. 
• G/L Consolidations 5.3A, Inter-company Transactions 5.3A, and Process Server 5.3A are not compatible with Sage Accpac 5.4 applications. Do not upgrade to 5.4 if you are in need of these modules. Version 5.4 of these modules will be available in the coming months.
• The Multi-level BOM feature in Inventory Control will not be available if Serialized Inventory or Lot Tracking Version 53B is integrated.
• If you are using any third party products - check with the vendor to confirm that they are compatible with Version 5.4 before upgrading.

When upgrading to Version 5.4, be sure to follow the detailed instructions in the manuals for each module. Here are some additional items to consider:

Optional Fields

•  If you use Optional Fields, you must install Sage Accpac Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator 5.4A before activating any applications that use optional fields.

Bank Services

•  Prior to activating Bank Services 5.4 or Tax Services 5.4, you must ensure that all open Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable batches are posted. 
•  Post any open reconciliations and clear transactions that were reconciled to future periods or cleared with a bank error.

Please check the upgrade documentation for more details.

Accounts Receivable

•  If you are upgrading from Accounts Receivable Version 5.2 or earlier, ensure that all transactions have been posted to the general ledger. Run the Create G/L Batch form if necessary or process the CSV file that is created by the above step if General Ledger is not active in the company.
•  Ensure that all statement runs have been completed before upgrading. Reprint all incomplete statement runs from the Statements/Letters/Labels form if necessary.

Accounts Payable

• If you are upgrading from Accounts Payable Version 5.2 or earlier, ensure that all transactions have been posted to the general ledger. Run the Create G/L Batch form if necessary or process the CSV file that is created by the above step if General Ledger is not active in the company.

Inventory Control

• Complete Day End processing.

Purchase Order

• Complete Day End processing.

Refer to the separate application "read-me" files and upgrade manuals for more detailed information.

Are there any changes to the minimum system requirements for version 5.4?

Yes. Version 5.4 requires Pervasive.SQL V 8.7 or higher, if you will be deploying on a Pervasive database.
Please note that Pervasive 9.1 requires a separate ODBC connection in order to support security at the database level.

Does version 5.4 provide integration with version 5.3 modules?

5.4 applications require System Manager, Bank Services, G/L Subledger Services, and Tax Services to be at the same 5.4 level. In addition, if you use the following modules integrated with other 5.4 modules, they need to be at the same or higher level than noted:

• General Ledger 5.4A or later is required.
• Purchase Orders 5.3B with SP3 or later is required.
• Order Entry 5.3Awith SP4 or later is required.
• Project and Job Costing 5.3B with SP2 or later is required.

A number of new 5.4 features are not available unless all modules have been upgraded to 5.4.
The following are some examples:

• If you have installed and activated modules to 5.4 with the exception of Inventory Control, Order Entry, Purchase Orders, and Project and Job Costing, then the new feature, Tax Retainage will not be available. The Tax Authority setting "Report Tax on Retainage Document" will be disabled and set to "No Reporting".
• If AR and AP have been upgraded to 5.4, and Order Entry, Purchase Orders, or Project and Job Costing remain at 5.3, the new feature, Tax Reporting Currency will not be available in those modules.
• If AR or AP have been upgraded to 5.4 and is integrated with PJC 5.3B, PJC will not update Customer Receipts for AR Refunds on Prepayments.

As always, all of the latest service packs must be installed.

Does version 5.4 integrate with other Sage Software applications?

In addition to integration with Sage Payroll Services, Sage Accpac should be integrated with Sage FAS and Sage Abra by the end of the year.

What about support for previous versions?

In keeping with corporate product support guidelines (current version and one version back) following the release of all modules of version 5.4, we will retire the English version of Sage Accpac 5.2. Of course, no sales or support will be provided on any version prior to 5.2 once that announcement is made. More details will follow with the Phase 2 release of Sage Accpac 5. 4.

Will the Sage Accpac Options products work with version 5.4?

Options products are being updated for compatibility with version 5.4.

What about the 5.4 upgrade for clients that require Purchase Orders and Project and Job Costing integration?

If you use the following modules integrated with other 5.4 modules, they need to be at the level noted below or higher:

•  General Ledger 5.4A or later is required.
•  Purchase Orders 5.3B with SP3 or later is required.
•  Order Entry 5.3Awith SP4 or later is required.
•  Project and Job Costing 5.3B with SP2 or later is required.

What about Crystal Reports?

With this release, Sage Accpac will support Crystal XI. Crystal Reports XI may be purchased separately for clients that wish to design their own reports.

Can I still purchase Sage Accpac 5.3?

Yes. Version 5.3 will continue to be available for sale until all of the 5.4 modules are released. We will make an announcement about product availability at that time.